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Vidar stopped moving and looked at her. She continued to wipe the counter down.
“Are you asking for us?” he wanted to know.
“No, we have already talked about us,” she said. He hummed and walked over to her and took the rag out of her hand and turned her towards him.
“And you are okay with where we are?” She looked into his eyes and she could see a worry
them.
in
“I am. I didn’t mean to worry you by my question. I know that if I choose to remain human, we will have to talk through things. But as things are now, I feel secure.”
“That’s all I need to hear,” he said and gave her a k*ss. “Okay, so back to your question,” he continued, taking her into the living room to sit down on the couch. It had become their spot for talking things out. It was a good spot as it let Charlie snuggle up to Vidar or sit back and look him in the eyes. All depending on the subject. “When a vampire and a human fall in love, they will start a relationship like any other couple.”
“Will there be an imprinting?” she asked.
“It’s very unusual. An imprinting is partly a way to find a good reproductive match, and since humans and vampires can’t reproduce, the need to imprint doesn’t exist. Then we have the fact that imprinting often takes a long while.” Charlie nodded. He had explained that earlier. “Most humans just don’t want to stick around for so long without a real commitment. There are exceptions, of course.”
“How do they make it work? Do the vampire tell the human everything?”
“Sometimes. It’s not forbidden to tell a human about our world, most of us just don’t do it as we know the dangers if it becomes common knowledge. If an imprint is created, most vampires will offer to turn their partner. But that is a dangerous game,” he explained.
“How so?”
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“Remember that I told you that turning someone involved changing their DNA?”
“Yes,” she said.
“When the DNA changes, it risks altering the person so much that the imprint no longer exists.” Charlie drew in a sharp breath. The possibility of losing what she had with Vidar almost affected her physically.
“They can lose the connection?”
“Yes, it’s about a fifty–fifty chance.”
“But if they don’t, the vampire will have to watch their imprinted partner die. That’s an impossible choice to make,” she told him. She paused as a thought appeared in her head. “Will I risk losing the imprint if I change into a vampire, or something else?” she asked.
Vidar’s grip on her shoulder tightened, and he k*ssed her.
“No. Because what you do is magic, it’s not something clumsily concocted by humans. What they try to do by magic and potion, you can do naturally. That’s one of the mysteries with magic. Magic creatures can use their abilities with small or no consequences. But when someone tries to reproduce the ability, it always comes at a higher price.”
“So I can keep you, whatever my choice is?” she asked. It was an important question. If she risked loosing Vidar if she chose anything but being human, she would stay human.
“Yes. And even if something goes wrong, I promise you to make sure that we will create a new imprint. I’m not letting you go, Charlie. You are my little lynx,” he told her. Charlie relaxed into his arms. “There is more that is bothering you?” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.
“I’m just thinking of the vampires that have been turned. Are they not able to imprint since they can’t reproduce?”
“It’s harder for them and it doesn’t help that they have been genetically altered so the potential matches they once had are no longer a possibility. Most of them choose to do it the human way and go with their heart, without the bond. It’s a dangerous business when you have everlasting life. A bond is permanent. The heart is fickle,” he explained. Charlie’s heart
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ached for the vampires forced to live in such a way. It was hard to have that kind of certainty
as a human, but to go through cycles of love and heartbreak for hundreds of years felt like torture to her. “Don’t feel too bad, baby. It’s all part of the lives we live, and we come to grips. with reality. It’s just another way to live your life.”
“Okay.” Charlie wasn’t convinced, but then she guessed there was always some coping mechanism you could use.
“Have I answered all of your questions?”
“It 30. Even if I didn’t like the a
I was hoping that if Lilly liked Daniella, it could be a start of something amazing. But now I feel like I should make sure Lilly stays away. There is only heartbreak otherwise.”
“Maybe they won’t be together forever, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be happy while they
are together. Some things are worth the heartbreak,” Vidar said.
“Maybe,” Charlie agreed. Would she give up Vidar if she knew she could only have him for five years? No, she thought. Five years would be better than no years, even if she knew how heartbroken she would be. They ended up staying on the couch, Vidar reading and Charlie playing on her phone.
Charlie woke up in the middle of the night by Vidar moving under her. Her foggy brain tried to figure out what was happening as Vidar tried to transfer her head to the pillow as he was murmuring something. It took Charlie a moment to realise he was talking on the phone. He quietly left the room, and she frowned. She had almost fallen back to sleep as he returned. She could barely see his face in the dark, but the little she saw woke her up.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. You can go back to sleep, Charlie,” he said.
“Sure, as soon as you tell me what’s wrong,” she insisted. Vidar sighed.
“Nothing is wrong. I just need to step out for a moment to deal with business.” Charlie raised her eyebrow, a move she had learned from him.
“I thought we were done lying to each other,” she told him in a sharp voice. It startled him,
and he looked at her.
“I’m not lying.”
“Yes, you are. I know you are doing it to protect me or to shield me, or for some other stupid.
reason. But I need you to be honest with me.”
“Fine,” he sighed. He had started to walk towards the closet, but turned round and sat down
on the edge of the bed next to her.
“One of my men called me. There has been a shooting in one of the storage facilities I own,”
he told her.
“Is someone hurt?”
“We lost two men and a couple more are injured,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Vidar,” she told him. Taking his hand in hers and placing a k*ss on it.
“Thank you, but it’s the name of the game.”
“That isn’t what is bothering you, is it? Do you think Millard is behind this?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he reluctantly agreed. “It doesn’t feel like the usual small turf fighting or another organisation trying to gain a reputation. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s more thought out.”
“Trust your gut, I do. Do you need to leave straight away?” she asked.
“Yes. I need to get a look at the place. I need to see if I can find the evidence that proves I’m right.” She nodded. She understood he needed to take care of his business.
“Be safe. I want you back.”
“I’ll try to not be gone too long. Stay in the apartment, don’t let anyone in, and stay alert.”
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“I’m going to curl up and go back to sleep and hope you will be back by the time I wake up,”
she said.
“You do that. I would like to join you.”
“But you can’t, I get that.”
“I love you, Charlie,” Vidar told her.
“I love you too.” Charlie watched as Vidar moved around the almost completely dark room. and got dressed. He walked over to her and pressed his lips against her forehead. Then he was out of the room and Charlie heard the front door open, close and lock. She sighed, tried to get comfortable and go back to sleep. But there was no position in the large bed that she found comfortable. It was too warm, then too cold, the pillow felt off and the comforter too clingy. She realised how used she had got to fall asleep in Vidar’s arms, using him as a pillow. She looked at the clock and saw it was ten past three in the morning. Too early to get out of bed. It didn’t help that her mind kept feeding her thoughts of all the horrible things that could happen to Vidar. she decided she was being paranoid and silly. Nothing would happen to him. Despite her resolution, she couldn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she got up and sat down in front of her computer. She logged on in one of her favourite games and distracted her overworked brain.